The cold-blooded murders of police officers in New York City were predictable (“Protests fanning of flames burns cops,” Dec. 22). Allowing anarchy, unfettered mob rule and social chaos to prevail in Missouri and elsewhere, Boston included, set the stage for the cowardly act. When police officers are unjustly maligned with a broad brush, and then some are actually attacked and murdered, the very fabric of civilized society is in dire jeopardy. Expect copycats.

Nationwide, we are doing the black community a disservice when we make special accommodations for dissidents, in terms of leniency as to arrest and accountability. This is probably driven by liberal social activists who seem to wield way too much influence for their numbers. Before all is lost, it is time for logic to prevail and to reassess flawed tactics. Time for some tough love.

— Francis X. Roark, Chelmsford

The writer is a retired deputy chief of police in Chelmsford.

Police eager to meet

Many Massachusetts law enforcement leaders have said time and time again that they are willing to meet with the state Legislature and advocacy groups to discuss the concerns of our communities (“Pols didn’t want cops at profiling meeting,” Dec. 18). But at the recent meeting organized by lawmakers and advocacy groups, the police were left out. This is not working with one another; this is working against one another.

Thanks to state Sen. Richard Ross (R-Wrentham) for saying organizers should “invite members of the law enforcement community to participate in any dialogue” that pertains to them.

Ann Lambert, an attorney for the ACLU, said, “We expect to work on solutions to problems; we have to grapple with law enforcement and everyone else.” Maybe if law enforcement had been present at the meeting, some of the various issues could have been addressed.

Instead it all came across as a strategy meeting for how these advocacy groups and lawmakers are going to deal with the police. Instead of continuing this divisive path by meeting to discuss police practice without the police present, the Legislature should take a leadership role in bringing these parties together.

— Hugh Cameron, North Attleboro

president, Massachusetts Coalition of Police

No to ‘Knight Life’

On Dec. 20, two heroic police officers were murdered in New York City by a coward. That same day, the Herald printed a syndicated comic strip whose artist portrayed a police officer killing a man for no reason (“The Knight Life, Dec. 20).

The NYC police were doing their duty when they were gunned down. This crime followed protests partly about a young black man who was gunned down in Ferguson, Mo., in a situation in which it turns out the officer was defending himself.

The paper should remove “Knight Life” from its comic section as this strip only serves as a catalyst for racial divide.